Today in Politics: In INDIA bloc’s litmus test, AAP-Cong vs BJP in Chandigarh; Kejriwal set to skip ED’s fourth call

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has asked Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to appear before it Thursday for questioning in connection with the alleged Delhi excise policy scam after he skipped the agency’s summonses thrice in the case earlier.

There were, however, clear indications from both the AAP and the Delhi government that Kejriwal is unlikely to appear before the ED this time too.

In fact, on Thursday, the AAP chief – along with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, MP Raghav Chaddha and the party’s national general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak – is heading off to Goa on a three-day tour to take stock of the party’s preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

At an event in Delhi on Wednesday, where he interacted with elderly pilgrims leaving for Dwarkadheesh in Gujarat, Kejriwal was asked by reporters about the ED’s fourth summons. “We will do whatever needs to be done according to the law,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj echoed similar views. “He (Kejriwal) is clear that whatever he will do he will do in accordance with the law and the advice of the legal counsel,” Bharadwaj said.

Kejriwal had refused to depose before the ED for the third time on January 3, citing the Rajya Sabha polls and Republic Day preparations.

The CM had also questioned the motive behind the ED’s actions, citing legal “objections” to the summons and accusing the agency of assuming the role of “judge, jury and executioner”.

Earlier, the AAP chief was asked to appear by the ED on November 2 and December 21 last year, but he skipped it both times.

The AAP has repeatedly expressed apprehensions that Kejriwal could be arrested following his questioning by the ED. The party has